Diagnosis & Treatment
by KBear ASB
Summary: Leo and Stanley discuss Josh & Donna
1. Chapter 1

Diagnosis and Treatment Pt. 1?

Leo has a conversation with Stanley that reveals some things that the good doctor doesn't know about Donna and Josh.

Spoilers: anything through NSF Thurmont is fair game I suppose…

Disclaimers: Love them, don't own them, just having a little fun, so please don't sue me you wouldn't get that much anyway… K

Margaret escorted Stanley Keyworth to Leo's office. Leo stood up from his desk and came forward to greet Stanley with a firm handshake as Margaret withdrew, softly closing the door.

Leo motioned the younger man towards the couch.

"So, how was your flight?" he asked, trying to ease into the real reason he had summoned the trauma specialist to the West Wing.

"Just fine – I've never had an Air Force major for a pilot before," Stanley replied with a sardonic smile. "But you didn't fly me out here just so I could have that experience. What's up, Leo?"

Leo sighed as he looked at Stanley.

"I'm assuming you've heard about Gaza?"

"Yeah, I did. The loss of Admiral Fitzwallace must weigh heavily on the President."

"Yeah, well, there's more to it."

"Oh?"

"Donna Moss is among the injured."

"My god, Leo. Why was she there?"

"That's a long story, Stanley. Short version – Josh was trying to give Donna more responsibility, a chance to grow. Well that has literally blown up in our faces."

The two men sat in silence, each lost in his thoughts. Finally Stanley broke the silence with a question.

"Leo, how is Josh?"

"You'd have been proud of him, he managed to hold it together up until a few hours ago."

"What happened?"

"A discussion of options set him off – not like in the Oval, but it was enough for me. I gave him permission to go to Germany."

Stanley nodded thoughtfully. "That was probably the smart thing to do. Otherwise he might have gone AWOL on you by the end of the day."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think it would have taken **_that _**long?

"Point taken. Maybe he can repay the debt he feels he owes Donna, you know how instrumental she was in his recovery."

"Really? Stanley, just how many turnip trucks do you think there are on Pennsylvania Avenue?" Leo deadpanned. Then he turned serious.

"Stanley, how much have you been told about what happened with the staff while he was in surgery that night?"

"Other than discussing Josh's emotional state during his recovery, we haven't really talked about that. Why?"

"Donna wasn't at the Newseum that night; she was at home when she heard the news. The report she saw only mentioned the President, no one knew about Josh at that point. When Donna got to GW, Josh had just gone into surgery, so they sent her to the waiting room. Toby had the unpleasant task of telling Donna what had happened to Josh. From what CJ and the others have told me, Donna basically went into shock. For the longest time, she just sat there, hardly reacting to anything. The staff made sure she was never alone, not that she noticed. Abbey managed to get Donna to an observation window to watch Josh's surgery. She only left that window twice in ten hours, Stanley, and then it was only because Abbey threatened her with sedation."

"Leo, ten hours, she stood there that long?" Stanley was amazed, he knew Donna was devoted to Josh, he had learned a lot that Christmas, now he was learning more.

"Yeah, Stanley, ten hours. And when Josh finally came out of recovery, the President and I were the first to see him. We came out to tell the staff that Josh was out of surgery and what he had said when he woke up, and that's when Donna allowed herself to relax. Unfortunately, she had kept herself under such rigid control for so long the release was too much. She started crying and just couldn't stop, poor kid. Abbey had to call in Josh's doctor and between the two of them they managed to sedate her. She woke up furious at first, but when Abbey threatened to sedate her again, Donna calmed down and went to work."

Leo paused, the painfulness of the memory evident in his eyes.

"Went to work? She went back to the office?" Stanley wasn't sure he understood Leo's meaning.

Leo winced. "Not exactly – while she did manage to farm out a lot of Josh's projects, she spent most of Josh's hospital stay at his bedside. She was companion, bully, patient advocate, warden."

"Bully?"

Leo chuckled.

"She came up with the "Rules". Basically their purpose was to keep everyone away from Josh and to make Josh cooperate with the nurses and doctors. For 2 solid weeks she practically lived at GW. And I thank God she did," Leo finished in a soft voice.

"Why, Leo?" Stanley could tell that Leo was reliving the events. Leo leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Because I don't think that even Josh's mom could have worked the magic Donna did. She got Josh to eat, bullied him into doing his therapy and basically willed him to live. She kept the Bartlets out of his room, respectfully but firmly, and enforced the Rules relentlessly. And it continued when Josh was back home. Four solid months, if she wasn't at Josh's apartment, she was in the West Wing taking care of Josh's office. She was a force to be reckoned with, Stanley. Just ask Toby – he really had a fit about the Rules."

"But Leo, even the strongest willed person has to eventually fall apart. Did that happen?"

"In spectacular fashion, my friend."

"What happened?"


	2. Chapter 2

Diagnosis and Treatment 2?

Summary: Leo and Stanley continue their conversation while Josh is on his way to Germany.

A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback, and I hope the wait wasn't too unbearable ;)!

Previously: "But Leo, even the strongest willed person has to eventually fall apart. Did that happen?"

"In spectacular fashion, my friend."

"What happened?"

"Donna had come into the office early one morning; I'd say it was about a month after Josh had been discharged. She had been gathering some files and fielding a few phone calls. Apparently one of the calls went sour and a congressional aide made a rather unfortunate comment regarding Josh and Donna lost it. And I mean she LOST it, Stanley. I had been on my way to see her and I was just outside the office when she blew. She leveled both barrels and cut loose. Now I've heard Donna yell at Josh and Sam before, but never like this. It was worthy of some of my former drill instructors."

"Anyway, she slammed the phone down and the next thing I hear is a loud crash and then the sobs. I went into Josh's office and there's Donna, head in her hands, crying her eyes out. It broke my heart, Stanley."

"What was the crash?"

Leo grinned. "Donna was so furious about the phone call that she picked up the phone and threw it at against the chalkboard. Not only did she break the phone, she threw it so hard that the chalkboard came loose and fell to the floor."

"Ouch." Stanley's eyes widened at Leo's description.

"Yeah, I'll say. You can still see the dent in the office floor."

"The dent? Note to self – never piss off Donna Moss. What happened then?" Stanley asked.

"Nothing for awhile – I just held her until she cried herself out and calmed down. Then we talked about what had happened with the phone call. Seems the aide used a rather unfortunate choice of words and Donna just snapped. Given what was said, I don't blame her one bit. Now, Donna is forever tormenting Josh about the number of times she's had to send 'apology baskets' because he's pissed off some congressman. Well, Donna must have been channeling Josh because her little tirade was worthy of the master."

"Anyway, once she calmed down, I managed to get Donna to tell me how **_she_** was doing. She admitted that she was still scared for Josh, apparently Josh's nightmares had just started and as a consequence Donna was getting very little sleep. It was right about then that Abbey showed up."

"What prompted her visit?"

"Well, it turned out that the President was over in the Communications bullpen when the chalkboard fell. He sent Ron Butterfield over to investigate. When Ron reports that "Rolling Stone has popped her cork", the other agent informed the President, who immediately came to see Donna. She was still crying, probably never even knew he was there right then. He called Abbey down and between the three of us, we convinced Donna to go up to the Residence to have something to eat and rest. Abbey was able to talk her into taking a sleeping pill. The next day Abbey gave Donna a thorough physical. The results were not encouraging. Apparently Donna had been so consumed with taking care of Josh that she was ignoring her own needs – she'd lost over 15 pounds since the shooting. As you might imagine, this resulted in the creation of a whole new set of rules, except that this time Donna was the 'enforcee' not the enforcer."

"How did she react?" Stanley had a pretty fair idea, but hearing the reality should prove to be rather entertaining.

Leo chuckled mightily. "Pissed as hell! It took the combined persuasive powers of Jed, Abbey, myself **_and_** Mrs. Landingham to bully Donna into cooperating."

"What were some of the rules she had to abide by?"

"She was not to report into the West Wing until 9am, - 11 on weekends, she was to eat lunch with Abbey in the Residence, she was to take a rest in the Residence before she left for the day, and she was not allowed to drive. Ron Butterfield had already assigned a rotation of agents to shadow Donna, so it was a simple thing to adjust the parameters of that detail to have an agent drive her. She never knew about the shadow detail, and she was sensible enough to agree to the driver." Leo explained.

"Shadow detail? What's that?"

"You and I both realize the uniqueness of Josh and Donna's relationship. What is obvious to the rest of us is also obvious to the Secret Service. A few months before Rosslyn, Ron came to me to discuss the situation. It seems he had taken the liberty of assigning agents to follow Josh and Donna home on nights when they had worked late into the night. He told me he felt it was a prudent precaution to take. Since I didn't have a problem with it, I okayed his plan."

"When Rosslyn happened, he informed me that night that several agents who had participated in the previous shadow detail had contacted him to volunteer to shadow Donna 24/7. An agent was always in or near Josh's room. Abbey gave Ron specific instructions as to signs of stress and fatigue to look for. And as soon as Josh was out of danger and Donna was willing to leave the hospital, the President insisted that Donna not drive; they insisted she be driven by an agent and that stipulation was not relaxed until Josh returned to work.

"How did the First Lady manage to supervise all this? She has her own obligations, right?"

Leo nodded his head. "Yup, and one of those obligations was a State Dinner."

"What did she do?"

"Not only did the First Lady cancel all her appearances for a five day period, she also postponed the State Dinner with the Canadian Prime Minister. With the full approval of the President."

"Why?"

"Because Abbey knew that Donna was crafty enough to find a loophole in the rules. Anyone capable of keeping Josh in line and under control is someone you don't take lightly. Donna may be strong-willed, but she also has a tremendous amount of respect for the first lady. She realized that the Bartlets were only looking out for her best interests, so she knew better than to argue."

"And Donna didn't fight this? From what I've come to know about Donna, I find it hard to believe that she acquiesced gracefully." Stanley remarked in disbelief.

"It took about 2 seconds for Donna to agree to the terms. I think she was too focused on Josh getting better and keeping the office running smoothly. Besides she knew the consequences of trying to argue with the First Lady." Leo replied emphatically.

"I take it that arguing with the First Lady isn't something any sane person would attempt?" Stanley quipped.

"I don't recommend that an insane person attempt it, my friend."

"Duly noted."

"Well, from the looks of things everything has worked out pretty well." Stanley observed.

"Until Christmas."

TBC - insert evil grin here!


	3. Chapter 3

Diagnosis and Treatment Pt. 3

Usual disclaimers apply – just amusing myself until TPTB finally get it right…sigh

Summary: Stanley and Leo continue their discussion about Donna and Josh.

_**Previously on the West Wing:**_

"_Well Leo, it sounds like everything worked out for the best." Stanley observed._

"_Until Christmas that is." Leo replied._

"Donna was the one to figure that out, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, it is still amazing to me that I missed seeing what was really happening to Josh. For God's sake, I've know him since he was a kid, how did I not see it?" Leo shook his head in anger as he rose from his chair and walked to the window. He stood there staring but not seeing.

Stanley watched as the older man fought his inner demons for control. 'And this man certainly has his demons,' thought Stanley. He cocked his head as Leo turned back towards the room, sighing as he returned to his chair.

"I'm getting too old for this crap," muttered Leo.

"You wanna know what I think?" Stanley offered.

"Probably not, but I've noticed you have no problem telling truth to power." Leo replied dryly.

Stanley had the good grace to blush slightly before speaking.

For all of your crusty, ferocious bluster, for all of your savvy political prowess and power, I think you are a closet romantic and protective mother hen where your staff is concerned. You would gladly deal with all the fallout that would occur if Josh and Donna ever acted on their feelings. Oh sure, you'd grumble a bit for appearances sake, but privately you'd be the first to congratulate them."

"You died a thousand deaths that night at GW, but like Josh, you survived. And now your heart has been broken again by the events in Gaza, because you think of Donna as your own daughter. And you just sent 'your son' to Germany to face whatever is going on with Donna by himself."

Stanley paused and waited while Leo, head bowed and hands clasped, pondered his words.

"Leo, don't second-guess yourself about sending Josh to Germany. It was the right thing to do." Stanley said quietly.

Leo raised his head to look at the other man, a look of complete disbelief on his face.

"Josh has mentioned your freakish, and might I say **_rather annoying_**, ability to say exactly what he's thinking. How do you do it?"

Stanley smiled ruefully. "It's a curse, actually. After all, would you be happy knowing that you understand exactly just how Josh's mind really works?"

Leo chuckled heartily. "No thank you! I sometimes wonder how Donna has managed to keep her sanity for this long."

"How long has she worked for him?"

"Since the campaign, she basically hired herself, and that was that. Once she was on board, Josh changed for the better. She's always been able to read him and for some reason she has stayed loyal to him through all the crap. Yeah, she was the one to come to me. Not that others hadn't noticed anything; they just didn't recognize what they were seeing. But she did and it scared her to death. But the kid's strong, God love her, I just hope they both can stay strong. She's in pretty bad shape."

"Just how bad is it?" Stanley asked softly.

"Collapsed lung, compound fracture of the thigh bone, multiple lacerations. I had a phone call updating her condition just before you arrived." Leo looked down at his hands once again.

"Well those are pretty significant injuries, but barring complications, she should recover completely." Stanley paused; something in Leo's eyes caught his curiosity.

"Leo, what haven't you told me?"

"She was the only survivor from that vehicle." And with that simple statement, the demons had returned.

Stanley nodded in understanding – now he knew the name of at least one of Leo's demons, possibly two.

"You're afraid of what's waiting down the road for her, because you've experienced it yourself, haven't you? And you remember what happened with Josh."

"Yeah, and it's a terrifying trip down that road. I know Donna is strong, and together she and Josh can be a formidable combination, but they been through so much already for this administration… Honestly, Stanley, how much more can either of them take?" Leo's voice was rough with raw emotion as he passed a hand over his face in frustration.

"Well, we will just have to make sure they have our full support, won't we?"

"Will it be enough?"

"I think you and the rest of the staff have the capacity to give Josh and Donna the support they'll need."

"But Donna was the one to keep Josh together. I don't know if he can hold it together without her help," Leo fretted.

"Leo, I think that you will be surprised at just what Josh is capable of."

"So what you're sayin' is that Josh is well aware of just how important Donna is to him personally?" Leo's was heavily laced with skepticism.

Stanley grinned. "While I can't divulge specifics concerning Josh, I can tell you that he harbors a deep-seated desire to take care of Donna, to protect her whenever possible, and not just for the short-term."

Leo closed his eyes in resignation. The information just given him was a double-edged sword – a glimmer of hope that Josh and Donna might finally get a chance to be happy together coupled with the distinct possibility of a media nightmare when the facts became public knowledge.

"Stanley?"

"Yes, Leo?"

"You really know how to hurt a guy, ya know that?"

Stanley nodded with a full-blown Cheshire cat smile creasing his face.

"It's all part of my boyish charm, Leo."

"Seriously, do you think they'll be okay?"

Stanley considered the question before answering the older man.

"Let me put it this way. I think that Josh has the capacity to support Donna much in the same way as she did for him after Rosslyn. You said yourself how Josh responded to Donna during his recovery; I'd be willing to bet that Donna will respond positively to Josh's presence in Germany. Yeah, I think they'll be just fine."

Leo sat back, quirking an eyebrow towards Stanley. "Just so you know, if this all blows up in our faces, I **_will _**be blaming you for the fallout."

Stanley just chuckled.

"What, you find that funny?" Leo grumbled.

"Yeah, I do. Wanna know why?"

"Oh please, I could use a good laugh."

"Because the idea of watching Josh finally figure out what has been right in front of him for the last few years should prove to be very entertaining. You have to allow me my little pleasures, Leo, and one of mine is finding the humor in almost any situation."

Leo just shook his head. "Stanley, you are a very disturbed person, do you know that?"

Stanley smiled. "Yes, I do, Leo."

Leo sighed. "I'll keep you posted. Now, get the hell outta my office, would you?"

Stanley just laughed as he left the office. Leo watched him depart, a silent prayer in his mind.

'Dear God, please let him be right."

THE END


End file.
